Imac or Macbook pro?

so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
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3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3

1TB Fusion Drive

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200

Magic Mouse 2

Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide

Accessory Kit

and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
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Touch Bar and Touch ID

2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 2133MHz memory

1TB PCIe-based SSD

Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory

Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop

If you scroll down to the games benchmarks, you can get an idea of the performance of the graphics card, the benchmarks are completed on Windows, so games running on macOS will have a little lower frame rates.

If you consider a desktop Mac for games, you need to go for the 5k iMac. Which is actually still cheaper than the 15" MacBook Pro.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB

1TB Flash Storage

AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory

You can make things a little cheaper going with an Intel Core i5 (unless you need the i7 for something specific)

If you scroll down to the games benchmarks, you can get an idea of the performance of the graphics card, the benchmarks are completed on Windows, so games running on macOS will have a little lower frame rates.

If you consider a desktop Mac for games, you need to go for the 5k iMac. Which is actually still cheaper than the 15" MacBook Pro.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB

1TB Flash Storage

AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory

You can make things a little cheaper going with an Intel Core i5 (unless you need the i7 for something specific)

so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
Add To Favorites

3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3

1TB Fusion Drive

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200

Magic Mouse 2

Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide

Accessory Kit

and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
Add To Favorites

Touch Bar and Touch ID

2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 2133MHz memory

1TB PCIe-based SSD

Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory

Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop

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I never understand these comparisons; you either need portability or you don't...

i was comparing witch one is better for gaming. i dont want to buy am Imac is the spec are not as good as the macbook pro

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Dollar for dollar the iMac is better, but for gaming the Iris Pro is best compared against the entry Radeon Pro 450. The Pro 460 beats the Iris Pro 6200, and the 1TB SSD is way better than the 1TB Fusion. If you ignore price and look only at the configurations you've selected then the MBP wins.

Are you sure? I first thought the iMac 27 would not fit on my wife's small desk, which is is 39" wide and 24" deep. It turns out it fit OK and the iMac's thin profile looks good. The only possible issue was an overhanging bookshelf. The iMac 27 is about 20" high from the desktop surface to top of the screen. It fit with about 1" to spare.

However if the iMac 27 won't fit, I'd get the 2016 MBP. It's a lot faster than the 21.5" iMac. I have both 2015 and 2016 MBP, and the 2016 is very good, once you get accustomed to the adapters needed for legacy USB-A devices. It is a lot quieter than the 2015 MBP and the fans don't spin up as much.

Are you sure? I first thought the iMac 27 would not fit on my wife's small desk, which is is 39" wide and 24" deep. It turns out it fit OK and the iMac's thin profile looks good. The only possible issue was an overhanging bookshelf. The iMac 27 is about 20" high from the desktop surface to top of the screen. It fit with about 1" to spare.

However if the iMac 27 won't fit, I'd get the 2016 MBP. It's a lot faster than the 21.5" iMac. I have both 2015 and 2016 MBP, and the 2016 is very good, once you get accustomed to the adapters needed for legacy USB-A devices. It is a lot quieter than the 2015 MBP and the fans don't spin up as much.

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Yes I know it won't fit into my bookshelf/desk I think i am just going to get the MacBook because it is updated and Your right it is faster as it is updated

so i know that apple is going to be updating the imac at the end of this year but my questions is witch one would you think is better

the imac that i am looking at is21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
Add To Favorites

3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3

1TB Fusion Drive

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200

Magic Mouse 2

Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide

Accessory Kit

and the macbook pro

Customize your 15-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
Add To Favorites

Touch Bar and Touch ID

2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

16GB 2133MHz memory

1TB PCIe-based SSD

Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB memory

Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

now i do plan on playing some games on this so i wanted to know witch one would be more stronger for gaming? at the looks of it i think the Imac? i love laptop dont get me wrong but the problem is that i just dont take my laptop anywhere so there for i just dont see the need for a laptop anymore witch is why i am thinking about switching over to a desktop

Click to expand...

Of those two configurations I'd get the MBP for sure, of course it is much more expensive.

If only Apple sold decent Mac mini systems, one of those plus an eGPU would be a good solution here if portability is not important but being able to play games on a Mac with a small footprint is. Sadly, the current Mac mini I would not recommend due to Apple's neglect.

In terms of the built-in GPUs, Apple's offerings have never been gamer-focused. You're either looking at an integrated GPU or a lower-power dedicated one meant to balance performance with battery life and limited cooling in laptops. The 27" iMac is better than and comparatively priced to the 15" Touch Bar MacBook Pro; in addition you get the 5K display, desktop-class CPU, and RAM which can be upgraded.

The performance difference between the CPU leans toward the iMac (i7-5775R) however in real world use it would be nearly impossible to distinguish against the MBP (i7-6920HQ). However the integrated graphics leans heavily toward the iMac (Iris Pro 6200) compared to the MBP (HD 530). Both are still on the very low end of graphic performance though.....

That said games that run well on integrated graphics tend not to be too picky. Neither of which will do well in modern AAA titles. I wouldn't consider either for gaming unless you are talking old school games that have been thrown back up on steam and such. And for those it won't matter which you pick. For example, recently I've been playing a game from my childhood, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and it plays fine on my system with Intels HD 3000 graphics lol.

If I had to buy now and those were my only two options I would consider the MBP and I would also get a monitor (that is more suited for gaming because the iMacs isnt) that utilizes TB3 to dock it. And in the future hopefully some good eGPU options become available to give you the ability to make it into a better gaming machine.

EDIT: Sorry disregard most of this. For some reason I missed the inclusion of Radeon Pro graphics on the MBP.

The performance difference between the CPU leans toward the iMac (i7-5775R) however in real world use it would be nearly impossible to distinguish against the MBP (i7-6920HQ). However the integrated graphics leans heavily toward the iMac (Iris Pro 6200) compared to the MBP (HD 530). Both are still on the very low end of graphic performance though.....

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I don't understand this. The two systems being discussed are an iMac 21.5 with i7-5775R, 1TB Fusion Drive and integrated graphics vs a top-spec 2016 MBP with i7-6920HQ, 1TB SSD and 4GB Radeon Pro 460 GPU. Overall the MBP will likely be faster due to GPU and vastly faster SSD.

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I go back and forth regarding desktop and laptop. I love my iMac but sometimes having a portable machine is very useful. With that said, I think what the iMac offers is just too much to pass up. I'd get that, if you can have your mobile needs met.

I don't understand this. The two systems being discussed are an iMac 21.5 with i7-5775R, 1TB Fusion Drive and integrated graphics vs a top-spec 2016 MBP with i7-6920HQ, 1TB SSD and 4GB Radeon Pro 460 GPU. Overall the MBP will likely be faster due to GPU and vastly faster SSD.

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